Method for adjusting a lamp relative to an illuminating beam path of a microscope and a microscope suitable for carrying out the method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for automatic lamp adjustment in a microscope without beam homogenizers in the illuminating beam path and a microscope equipped for the application of the method. According to the invention, the light power in the illuminating beam path is integrally measured with a detector behind the pupil plane of the microscope objective or behind the pupil plane of the illuminating beam path and the lamp is so adjusted relative to the illuminating beam path that the light power, which is detected by the detector, is a maximum. In a microscope, which is suitable for an automated lamp adjustment, for example, after an exchange of the lamp according to the method of the invention, motorized drives are provided for adjusting the lamp. These drives are driven sequentially by an evaluation and control computer until a maximum light power is detected with a detector.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a method for adjusting a lamp relative to an illuminating beam path of a microscope without a beam homogenizer and a microscope suitable for carrying out the method.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe adjustment of lamps for microscope illumination takes place usually in accordance with classical adjustment criteria which ensure a homogeneous illumination of the object field. This applies to the first adjustment of a microscope as well as to an exchange of a lamp. A first adjustment criterion is a sharp imaging of the light source, that is, of the light arc or of the lamp filament into the pupil of the objective. This adjustment criterion can be checked with the aid of a so-called Bertrand lens which images the objective pupil in the viewing field of the microscope. In lieu of a visual control of the sharp imaging, a CCD camera can be mounted in the image plane of the Bertrand lens and the image of the CCD camera is evaluated as to a sharpne...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple method for lamp adjustment in microscopes which ensures a homogeneous illumination of the object field to be illuminated and is well suited to automatization. A further object of the invention is to provide a microscope which, when utilizing the method of the invention, is suitable to bring about an adjustment of the lamp automatically which ensures a homogeneous illumination of the object field.

The detector for detecting the light power can be integrated into the illuminating beam path. In this case, it is advantageous when a reflecting region is provided on the specimen table of the microscope and when the detector detects the light reflected at the reflecting region. Alternatively, a portion of the illuminating beam path can be reflected out onto a detector.

Problems solved by technology

Because of the complexity of these classical methods for lamp adjustment, these methods are suited only to a limited extent to an automatization (in the first assembly and also after an exchange of lamps) in such a manner that the microscope ensures a homogeneous illumination of the object field without manual intervention.

On the other hand, experience has shown that especially routine users of microscopes are often unable to make a lamp adjustment in accordance with classical adjustment criteria.

The use of such beam homogenizers would, however, lead to a complexity in microscopes which could not be realized.

Images